2:30 AM
by confessions.of.katijane
Summary: It's the middle of the war, but George still finds a way to connect to Katie every night at 2:30 A.M. One-shot George/Katie.


**A/N: A short little one-shot I wrote on a whim. I'm not sure why I've been so George/Katie lately, but here is another. I do promise, though, that another Fratie is on the way. It's been far too long. Details are on my profile page if you're interested. Anyway, please read & review & let me know what you think of this one. Cheers!**

Katie Bell lay awake in the small trundle bed, her arms tucked behind her as she stared out the small cottage window at the gale. Mixed rain and snow lashed against its sturdy frame and she could hear the angry sea crash against the cliffs outside. Next to her, Alicia Spinnet shifted slightly in bed. Angelina, whose family owned the small cottage, was in the next room. Katie's analog watch read 12:30 A.M. The small radio hummed on the nightstand next to her.

The three of them had come to this small cottage on the Breton peninsula about a month ago when their own apartment in London had been invaded. Nowhere seemed safe anymore. This had been the first place Angelina could think of to Apparate, a few of their belongings stuffed hastily in bags. None of them knew entirely where their parents were. A muggle-born, Alica had made her parents promise to stay with relatives in America until further notice. As members of the Order of the Phoenix, Angelina's and Katie's parents could be anywhere. It was something none of them spoke of very much. They concentrated their efforts now on living inconspicuously, keeping alert for any news of the tumult in the wizarding world, and trying to track down the lads—Lee Jordan and Fred and George Weasley. The only clues they had of them were the nightly broadcasts Lee sponsored, though pirated may be a more accurate word.

Of the three of them, Katie had the most trouble sleeping and listening to _Potterwatch _allowed her breathing to grow steadier and her pulse to return to normal speeds. Lee's voice soothed her; it was consoling to know that at least he was somewhere, doing something, still having blood course through his veins. Fred's voice occasionally carried through the airwaves as well, an added comfort. It was George's voice which said the least, though it was always the one she listened for most earnestly.

Katie could not remember when the broadcasts had first started to come through, though she remembered the shock of the first one quite clearly. It had been at night, like always. The girls had rushed to the radio, clutching it like it was actually living and breathing Lee Jordan. They had listened for hours, though after their reports, it mostly descended into shameless promotions of the twins' joke shop, overly dramatic readings of old textbooks, and a lot of laughing between the three of them. It was like the radio had somehow connected the six friends again; the girls on one side, the lads on the other. Just to know that they were together had been enough. At two in the morning, however, Angelina and Alicia had invariably fallen asleep, strewn across the small couch in the living room, letting the embers in the fireplace burn dark. Katie had stayed awake, curled up next to the small radio, still listening to Lee describe his large left toenail in extremely unnecessary detail.

That was the first night she had heard it.

At twelve thirty, Lee signed off. He promised daily updates, or as often as he could manage to hack into the Wizarding Wireless Network. The station faded to static. And then, out of nowhere two hours later, George's voice came through as clear as anything—"And Katie, if you're listening, I love you."

And every night since then, the message had been repeated. She was always the only one awake to hear it, and she stayed awake every night until it was said.

She never told Angelina or Alicia about the small radio message, though she was not sure why. She loved having that part of it to herself; her one secret. _Their_ secret, actually; she doubted George waited the extra two hours for his own amusement. She was convinced he waited until Fred and Lee were asleep, wherever they were.

No one could have suspected, of course. Katie herself had not known the extent of George's feelings for her until that night. He was her best friend, after all—the one who had cheered her up when trivial things like quidditch performance seemed to matter, the one who accompanied her in detention, who hid prank candy in her quidditch locker, left fake love notes from Roger Davies in her textbook, who comforted her when Roger Davies actually dumped her. He was the one who asked her to the Yule Ball when no one else did, and the one who most faithfully visited her while she was in St. Mungo's. He was just George—George who she had not seen in over six months since he had disappeared into the hedges at his brother's wedding with one of the bride's veela cousins.

Everything was different now. In a few short months, they had all been forced to grow up, split up, and hide out. It seemed surreal that just three years ago her biggest concern was finding a date to the Yule Ball, and that life could always be made better by a perfectly timed raid on the Slytherin dorms. She did not remember that Katie Bell. This new one was hollow, always afraid, always calculating.

And she missed George Weasley, now in a different way than she ever had previously.

"Alright everyone, this is River for _Potterwatch_ tuning out for the night. Even though it seems bleak, I just want to wish everyone out there a Happy Christmas in a few days. Remember to tune in on the 24th for a special Christmas Eve program hosted by none other than yours truly, along with my cohorts—"

But the signal died early, or perhaps with a particularly strong gust of wind from the outside, and the station faded to static.

Katie Bell lay awake in silence for the next two hours, waiting for her message—the one that came every night, just for her.

Right on time, George's voice broke through the white noise.

"Katie, if you're listening, I love you."

She closed her eyes, finally able to sleep.


End file.
